The present invention relates to doors and more particularly to a co-extruded, vacuum molded plastic panel mounted in a peripheral frame to provide a lightweight, durable, low-cost and aesthetically pleasing door.
Sliding, folding and hinged doors are commonly found in the interiors of most homes. Sliding and folding doors are frequently used as doors for closets and hinged doors are commonly used as doors for rooms. Traditionally, many doors were made entirely of wood, but in recent years, doors made from alternative materials have been produced that are less expensive and easier to transport and install than doors made entirely of wood. These materials include molded wood pulp or fibers that are pressed in molds to form a thin molded panel structure which has the shape of a traditional looking door, such as a traditional raised six-panel door. The thin molded panels are glued to a frame which provides structural support. A typical frame for a thin molded panel is made of roll-formed sheet steel shaped to be mounted around the peripheral edges of the panel. The frame mounted panels are then finished so that the resulting product looks very much like a traditional wooden six panel door.
When attempts were made to use these thin molded panels individually as sliding doors, a major problem with this door construction was discovered. When one thin panel is framed with the roll-formed steel frame, for example, the panel is susceptible to warping and contortion because the wood components in the panel are hydroscopic and so tend to absorb moisture. This moisture absorption occurs regardless of how well wood fiber panels are sealed with paint or other surface treatments.
This general approach to door construction offers many advantages, however, because a door comprised of a thin panel mounted in a rigid metal frame can provide a lightweight, low-cost and aesthetically pleasing door if the problems associated with prior art thin door panels can be overcome. Thus, there is a need for a lightweight, durable, aesthetically appealing and economical panel that resists warping when mounted in a frame to provide a door.
To meet the need identified above, the present invention provides a door comprising a laminated panel having a peripheral frame defining the peripheral edge thereof. The laminated panel has an outer skin of thermoplastic material impregnated with opaque pigmentation and an inner substrate of a relatively rigid thermoplastic material impregnated with a filler and intimately bonded with the outer skin. The laminated panel is formed so that the substrate defines a door surface that faces interiorly in use, as toward the inside of a closet, and the outer skin defines a three dimensional door surface that presents the texture and at least a part of the color of the exterior appearance of the door in use.
A method of making a door having such a frame-mounted two layer plastic panel is also provided. A method for making the door comprises the steps of (1) coextruding an outer skin of plastic material defining an opaque color and an inner substrate of normally rigid plastic material capable of being rendered into a soft pliable condition by the application of heat to obtain an intimately bonded laminated sheet, (2) heating a sufficient area of the intimately bonded laminated sheet to cover the surface of a vacuum forming die having a die surface defining a three dimensional exterior configuration of one surface of a door, and (3) vacuum forming the laminate at a temperature rendering the substrate pliable with the outer skin in engagement with the die surfaces to form a relatively rigid door panel when cooled in which the substrate defines a door surface which faces interiorly in use and the outer skin defines a three dimensional surface which presents the texture and at least a part of the color of the exterior appearance of the door in use.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.